Do you want to stay informed about decisions that the LHS School Board makes? Do you struggle to get quality information when it comes to updates about Larned’s schools? Luckily, there is a website that is available to the public that tells the public everything they want to know! The website is called Boarddocs.com. Boarddocs is the website that the Larned School Board uses. They upload their previous meeting minutes, along with future meetings’ agendas, into this website, and the website is open to the public! The URL of this website is: https://go.boarddocs.com/ks/usd495/Board.nsf/Public. 

Anyone that wants to know what was discussed at previous school board meetings is able to get onto the website and read the minutes. Each meeting’s minutes will only be uploaded after they are approved at the next month’s meeting. This month-long delay is because the minutes must be approved at the next meeting, before the public can view them. The website also tells people what items are on the agenda for any upcoming meetings that they might want to attend. 

What if you don’t want to wait a month for the minutes to be released? Allisa Spain, the Communication and Engagement Clerk, summarizes the school board meetings and posts summaries of them to Facebook, and she posts the summaries on Larned’s school Facebook page. In order to find summaries of meetings, go to Ft. Larned USD 495’s Facebook page. This is an easy way for someone who does not want to attend meetings to hear an accurate recount of what is happening in the district.

However, if someone wishes to speak to the school board about their thoughts on a decision that has been or is being made, they must first get on the agenda. If someone is not on the agenda, they will not be allowed to speak during the school board meeting. To get on the agenda, one must fill out a form at the district office. Once the form is filled out, the request must be approved by the school board president. If someone is on the agenda, they will have up to five minutes to speak to the board. 

If you want to hear the discussion of the school board members instead of reading a summary of their discussion, then you will have to attend the meetings. Larned’s school board meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month. The public is welcome to attend these meetings, but they are encouraged to remember that they must be on the agenda in order to speak at these meetings. As always the public is encouraged to stay informed about the goings on of Larned’s school district, and there are many ways to do that such as attending meetings, reading summaries of the minutes, or reading the actual minutes.